At A Crossroad
by selkieskins
Summary: Fade De'Tirend arrives at the keep and very quickly finds it too much to bear alone. KC/Sand. OC and MotB. Rating may change later.


Chapter One: I'd Rather Be Under A Wizard

The keep loomed over them, a sad sight of crumbling walls and caved-in ceilings. Fade eyed it warily, not quite sure about the task that had been thrust upon her. If the size of the keep suggested the size of the trials she would face in running it, she wasn't sure she could cope. After all, she was just a backwoods wizard, and one who would probably have ended up living out her days in the swamp at that. She put on a brave face anyway, entered the courtyard with her companions following and let her familiar, Narch, the way.

She was accosted by several people all at once, Zhjaeve trying to hold her attention while an armoured woman introduced herself as Officer Kana, and a somewhat overfriendly man introduced himself as Master Veedle. The reason for Veedle's ecstatic demeanour seemed to be that he was the one in charge of rebuilding, and as such would have access to Fade's not inconsiderable amount of coin. He also seemed to be slightly mad, but in her short adventuring career Fade had learned that most everyone was at least a little insane. She often wondered about herself, travelling with the people she did.

At length, Veedle wandered off, exclaiming to no one in particular that he would draw up plans for the work that needed done on the keep right this minute. Kana excused herself too, saying there were preparations she needed to make before disappearing into the keep itself.

This left Fade standing in the courtyard, Shandra, Zhjaeve, Casavir and Sand by her side. She felt a little lost; the last time she had been here she'd had to fight her way through. She'd killed a man there, on the approach, and there, by the tavern, and many more inside. The thought of relaxing here was a little strange. She didn't know what to do next. Narch mewled forlornly from between her ankles.

"Well," Sand said. "Shall we inspect your property?"

"There's only one thing I want to inspect right now, and that's the tavern floor." She was joking, of course - she had no interest in imbibing the amount of alcohol it would take to get her drunk, what with her elven physiology - but going inside the keep would only mean starting her duties sooner.

"Dear girl," he chuckled, "much as it would amuse me to see you drink yourself under the table, you have _responsibilities_ now. And I'm sure it's much the same as the floor at the Flagon. At any rate, I would like to investigate the state of the library."

She grumbled but let him guide her inside, Shandra following. Zhjaeve disappeared off somewhere on her own, and Casavir mumbled some sort of apology for something or other and headed back down the approach.

As the heavy door swung shut behind them, Shandra blinked.

"This place is a dump," she said, a little too loudly. Kana looked over from where she was talking to a man who was probably a builder.

"Knight Captain," she said sharply. "I thought you'd want to survey the grounds of the keep before you came in."

"The journey was hard, and I'm too tired to pay much attention to the details of what needs fixing. I know the walls are the highest priority so I'd like to set the builders to work on them as soon as possible. "

Kana nodded. "I shall pass the word onto Veedle, then."

"Thank you," Fade replied.

"There is one more thing I need to discuss with you, before I show you to your accommodation. The Greycloaks that defend the walls."

"What about them?"

"A few good men can be trained quickly, with the right teachers, but Sir Nevalle has promised half a hundred men for you shortly. The numbers you command will only grow. So we must start with the basics and turn these farmers into fighting men."

"I'm not sure I'm the right person to be talking to about training fighting men. I only recently began my own combat training." She kept her tone even, although she was slightly irritated that she was expected to handle everything right away. She had assumed that Sir Nevalle had provided Kana to help her, not look down on her.

"They are your men to command, Knight Captain." Kana's voice was sharp and Fade sensed the disapproval in it. "You have to lead them."

"I know," Fade said through gritted teeth. Soldiers were always so belligerent. "I only meant… I would appreciate your guidance in the matter. Months ago I was a mere wizard's apprentice, and the most experience I've had with leadership is trying to stop a few of my companions from tearing each other apart."

"Oh," the officer said. "I did not realise. I am here to serve, of course, should you have need of me."

They left Kana behind and headed off towards the library.

"What's her problem?" Shandra whispered when they were out of earshot.

Fade shrugged. "I suppose she's just unhappy to be serving under a wizard. She'd prefer to have some battle hardened warrior commanding her. To be honest, so would I."

"I, for one, have absolute faith in your leadership abilities." Sand said. Fade glanced sideways at him, not quite trusting the compliment. "You may lead us into danger on a regular - almost daily - basis, but no one has actually _died_ so far. And besides, I'd far rather be under a level-headed wizard than some fighter who's taken one too many blows to the head."

"Why, I didn't know you felt that way, Sand," she said, grinning slyly at him. When he realised what he'd said he cleared his throat and became very interested in the tapestries on the walls. "And besides," Fade continued, "I've taken my fair share of head injuries. You forget that where I come from we have a yearly competition where we brain each other with clubs."

"And yet you were the most mentally stable candidate for the position here. I despair. Ah, here's the library."

The library was in no better a state than when they had last passed through. Fade made a small, strangled noise to see books treated so carelessly, lying on their creased and stained pages, spines broken, some even mildly singed. Sand seemed just as horrified as she was. Shandra looked around the room, proclaimed it to be "a dump, just like the rest of the place," and retreated. This left the wizards alone to begin tidying.

They worked for hours, mostly in silence, to pile the books that were salvageable into neat stacks. The bookcases were in no fit state to be used, so they left the books on the floor between them. Every now and again they would find something interesting and take a few minutes out to leaf through it together, but there were a lot of books and not so many hours left in the day. Those that were ruined too badly they put in separate piles, and Fade mused that she might attempt to copy out those that were at least legible after everything was over and she had more spare time. Narch and Jaral watched it all disinterestedly from the top shelf of the steadiest bookcase.

The candles they had set on the shelves had burned low. Finally, the books were in order, enough that they would not be damaged any further when the library was rebuilt - so long as the workers were careful. They had found a considerable number that were interesting enough to take with them, so along with those that needed copying they carried them out towards her quarters.

In the hallway, they came across the ranger, wandering but not quite lost.

"Looking for trouble, Bishop?" Fade asked.

"Looking for an elf. And look, I found two. A matching set. Worth a good deal of gold to certain collectors, I'd bet." There was a humorous undertone to his voice, but she didn't believe for a second that he'd hesitate to sell her out to the highest bidder. Then his tone darkened. "The githzerai is looking for you, in the entrance hall. Wants to take you out into the mountains on some foolish ritual quest, or something."

Zhjaeve was indeed looking for her, and once Sand had helped her carry the books to her chambers he left her to speak with the cleric.

It turned out that Bishop had the right of it; Zhjaeve wanted to travel to the Illefarn ruins to the east to perform a ritual concerning the King of Shadows. She insisted that they leave immediately, but Fade reminded her that they had only arrived that morning and needed rest before they set out again, so she settled for an early start. She did not seem to tire in the same way creatures of this plane did.

Casavir was dutifully ready and alert before dawn, and Sand had woken early anyway. Zhjaeve was anxious to be off, so Fade, who had only slept fitfully herself, went to wake Shandra. She shook the girl gently by the shoulder, then stepped quickly back as she jerked awake, her blonde hair falling tousled across her face. A look of fear and miscomprehension crossed her eyes before she was fully awake.

"Did I hit you?" she asked. "Sorry, I was dreaming. About lizardmen and githyanki and demons and the undead." She sighed and rubbed her face. "I don't know how you deal with all this stuff."

"Wait until they're all riding on the backs of dragons, then you'll really have something to worry about."

The girl smiled wanly at her, but it was a sad smile. "All I ever wanted was to keep my farm up and running, and maybe start a family. But I find myself wondering if I'll live long enough to ever settle down again."

"It's a dangerous lifestyle, true, but my foster father was an adventurer, and he settled down. Duncan was one too."

"Yes. But so was your mother, you said." That was true, and Fade couldn't argue with the truth. The only thing she could add at this point was that Shayla, Daeghun's wife, had gone the same way as her mother, and that was hardly comforting.

Shandra swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed; she was wearing only her long night tunic. Fade left her to get ready, telling her they were leaving in half an hour, and went to sit by herself on a stack of crates in the courtyard. She watched the sky bruising with the sunrise, contemplating what Shandra had said. It had never seemed important to her to have somewhere to settle, or someone to settle with. If anything, she was anxious to get away from her home and make something of herself (but if anything would ever have come of that without the involvement of the shards, she didn't know). But now that she had been so long gone from West Harbour she was beginning to feel differently, and there were now people she cared about and wanted to protect. Maybe the keep was somewhere to call home from now on, or maybe when all the business with Black Garius and the King of Shadows was over she would return to West Harbour.

"Ready to go?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned to see Sand standing by the crates, a pack slung over his shoulder and a bundled cloak that clinked when he moved cradled in his arms. Jaral was at his heel.

"Yes. Are you sure you'll need all those?"

He looked down his nose at her, although it seemed to be coincidental. "One never knows quite how many potions will be required on a journey, especially one into long abandoned ruins. Are you sure you have packed enough?"

Her own pack sat on her knee, and it contained only a waterskin, travel rations and a few healing kits. Her robe was rolled up and tied to the straps at the bottom, in case she wanted to change at some point, while she wore her elven chainmail. Her daggers were thrust through her belt.

"I think so. I don't want to be weighed down by books and scrolls, and I don't have space in my pack for bottles." She twiddled the ring on her right hand. She had a bad feeling about this journey, and she didn't quite know what it was. She was wearing armour on a journey for the first time, but she still felt green in the world of melee. Her little daggers were wizard weapons, but now Casavir and Shandra would expect her to help them with the front line while Zhjaeve took her place beside Sand.

"I can tell that something is troubling you," he said.

"It's nothing," she shrugged. "A bad feeling, that's all. It'll pass."

He looked at her appraisingly for a long moment, then turned away. "If you say so."

He obviously wanted her to speak her mind, but he wouldn't press her, and he definitely wouldn't want to sound like he cared. She sighed. "I woke Shandra from a bad dream. She worries she'll die before she can settle down… and I'll admit, I've been thinking the same thing."

"About you or her?" he asked.

"Both of us."

"You are far more capable than she is." His voice was matter-of-fact. "You're a talented wizard, not to mention you are your own human shield. Those of us unlucky enough to have to rely on others for either protection or spells are the ones who should be worrying."

They sat side by side for a moment, watching their familiars regarding each other intently in the dirt, then Sand turned to her and looked her in the face. "I don't think you've had an easy life, and it certainly doesn't look to be getting any easier. But you have companions… friends… who would follow you into the deepest Hells if you asked them to. Remember that." He raised his hand, hesitated, and quickly brushed a strand of hair behind her pointed ear. Then he cleared his throat and rose, mumbling something about finding Zhjaeve.

They set out as soon as it was light, after Fade had woken Veedle to make sure he knew what to work on in their absence. The journey was long, and harder than it would have been if she had worn something other than her armour. But she found she hadn't thought through her plans; if she changed into her robes she had nowhere to store her armour. So she was stuck with the weight of the chainmail, chafing in all the worst places. When she complained one night as they sat around their campfire sipping coffee (it was road coffee, the worst kind) Sand had simply given her a superior look and returned to his book. Although it took more than a week to reach their destination the journey was remarkably uneventful, and Fade suspected Sand was beginning to regret the large bundle of healing potions he had brought, although he was too proud to say anything.

Even when they reached the ruins there was nothing too difficult for them to handle. The goblins fell before them in a few hours and the few orcs that attacked her before she spoke with their leader were no more challenging. Leading the spirits through to the Communion Tree proved an annoyance, but mostly due to how easily they seemed to be confused by the glowing crystals on the walls. Sand said she should learn to appreciate the architecture of the places they blundered through to take her mind off things; she told him he should learn to keep his mouth shut (it was several hours into their task at this point, and she was rather irritable). Once that was over and done with her spirits lifted and she apologised. Fade even enjoyed watching her companions try to look dignified while skittering across the floor in the Challenge of Winter, as she and Sand snorted and thanked Mystra for their elven grace.

It was not until they went through the portal that Fade's bad feeling proved to have been justified.


End file.
